1897 Model "French 75"

1897 Model "French 75". . Since its introduction in 1897, the "French 75" was first used in World War I by both the French and the United States. It was the U.S. Army's first modern artillery piece and is significant in the development of weaponry as the first gun fitted with a recoil mechanism., Between the wars the wooden spoked wheels of the Model 97 were replaced with pneumatic tires to accommodate modern high speed warfare. During 1940 in World War II the "French 75" was used at the Maginot Line in the defense of France. Later, a large number of guns captured by the Germans were used to defend the French coast against the Allied invasion in 1944. There were only 17,000 of the "French 75" made including those manufactured under license in Mexico and the United States of America., The majority of troopers in Company C, 107th Ammunition Train, 32nd Infantry Division, during World War I were Jackson County soldiers. Notations made in diaries kept by Corporals Eilert Hagen and Sigurd Hanson of the Unit indicated a number of nights when the "boys were out hauling 75's."